Learning from Swami....

March 2, 2009

Pocono Power Broker: Audrey Bailey-Hocker (represented in short)

News and Information from Northeast Pennsylvania; March 02, 2009

Name: Audrey Bailey-Hocker.

Current position: East Stroudsburg School Board member.

Age: 67

Place of birth: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Education: City College of New York, University of Paris, La Sorbonne, France, and Fordham University, New York City.

Previous employers: AT & T, New York City Mayor's Office and New York City Board of Education.

Organizations/programs: Congress of Racial Equality, Jamaica Political Action League (Queens, N.Y.), Pocono Seido Karate School, Monroe County Democratic Committee and Smithfield branch of International Rotary.

Also lived in: France, Haiti and India.

Places visited: Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, England, Canada, Caribbean islands and Zambia.

Hobbies: Performing and recording inspirational CDs and jazz.

Pocono Record: Which teacher(s) or professor(s) had the biggest influence on you and why?

Audrey Bailey-Hocker: I would have to say the spiritual teacher and leader Sathya Sai Baba of India. I first became aware of Baba when watching the film, "The Lost Years of Jesus." At the end of the film, I saw this little man with a big afro doing these extraordinary things that seemed miraculous.

It was said that you only hear about Baba when he is calling you. Some hear about him in troubled times and others read about him. It is also said that, if you go looking for him, no matter how well-planned your trip is, it won't happen if it's not meant to be. My family and I decided to vacation in India in 1988, after I had watched "The Lost Years of Jesus," and that's how I got to meet Baba.

His teachings cover the spectrum of life. He teaches that true education doesn't end with college or graduate school. It's a lifelong transformation. In fact, Sai Baba says that the end goal of education is character.

Learning from Baba has tremendously broadened my perspective on life itself. I now am more accepting of people's differences. I'm more patient with people. I'm more appreciative of all of the world's religions.

.....

Pocono Record: If there's anything you can share with young people about how to improve their lives and communities, what is it?

Audrey Bailey-Hocker: Read. Get a good education. You have to compete not just with children in your own neighborhood or in the U.S., but with children around the world.

Take the time to enjoy yourself before you jump into the responsibilities of starting a family. There are too many children having children.

Never be afraid to follow your dreams. Go for it and let no one turn you around. If you believe strongly enough, nothing is impossible. If you can conceive it and believe it, then you can achieve it.

Instead of resolving arguments with violence, try to talk to each other. Nothing is so bad that it gives you justification to take someone else's life. I'm speaking out of the personal experience of losing my son, Christopher, to violence in New York City in 1992. He was 18 and bound for UCLA on a football scholarship. Someone mistook him for someone else they had a quarrel with and shot him. Young people shouldn't be afraid to show their emotions. If more young people knew how to express their emotions instead of keeping them bottled up, their might be less violence in the world.

Each of us is given a treasure chest at birth, one that can never be depleted. The more you share this treasure with others, the more it multiplies. The treasure I speak of is love. So, give love abundantly.

Interviewed by Andrew Scott

Complete article : http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090302/FEATURES/903020301/-1/NEWS

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